Psychology 2014

Hi

I have a conditional offer for Surrey 2014 to study psychology. I am a (slightly!) mature student in that I'm 22 and haven't come straight from A levels. I am topping up my A level grades with a 60 credit OU course. Are there other people who have an offer for psychology or who are not living in halls and commuting?

I also wanted to ask people that have already begun the degree, how they're finding it in terms of difficulty, despite my OU course I don't feel well enough prepared for a degree in some ways and just their general experience, would they choose Surrey again if they could go back?

Thank you

I didn't go to Surrey but I do have a place to start in September 2014 to study mental health nursing. I also have a Bsc (hons) Psychology, I graduated in 2012 at Roehampton uni.

ps: I started my psychology degree at 20 years old and didn't come straight from A levels either. I did an Access to higher education course in Humanities and social sciences. I've since done other courses and decided to go back to uni to train as a mental health nurse.

I can't comment on the University as I haven't started. However I know of people who have studied there previously and all feedback is positive.

Regarding the psychology degree, it is in some ways a hard subject. However if you have a genuine passion or interest in the subject then I'm sure you will do fine.

The first year is more of a foundation year to bring everyone up to the same standard, so its pretty much the same as ALevels in terms of difficulty.

If you worried that your not fully prepared, my advice would be first to ask the uni if they can recommend any introductory textbooks. That will give you a head start.

Once you start the course, I would suggest making good use of all the support around you such as lecturers, personal tutors and the library staff- they can often help with things like essay writing, note taking, referencing.

If you ever find that you don't understand something. Speak to the lecturers after the lecture ends or discuss it in the seminar or ask your personal tutor about it. Its their role to help you if your struggling with anything.

Do you know what you want to do after your psychology degree? If you want any tips/advice, feel free to ask. I looked at various different psychology related careers, whilst doing my degree.

sorry to go off topic but could you tell me about the psychology degree in roehampton? I have a conditional offer for there in September and I cannot decide between there, st marys, kingston and middlesex. Would you recommend the psychology course in roehampton? can you go on to do a post grad in psychology after and is there any work experience/travelling involved? thank you

Hi, thats cool. No problem :-)

congratulations on your offer :-) What course are you studying at the moment? eg A Levels, access etc

Yes I would recommend the psychology degree at roehampton. Yes you can go on to do post grad psychology courses after. Roehampton have a range of them that they offer (Masters and Phd's etc). However if they don't have the one you want. You can switch to another uni. Theres alot in london that do post grad psychology courses.

One of my friends, who was in the year below me graduated from roehampton with a 1st class in her psychology degree and is now at Birkbeck uni doing an Msc in developmental sciences.

There is no work experience or travelling involved. If you are getting accommodation there, whitelands campus is where all psychology lecture's are held. Though the main campus is only a short 5-10min walk down the road. (Or there's a free bus or local buses).

If you want a uni that does work experience there is a few, but none that I know of. I would suggest if you have time doing some voluntary work in an area that interests you.

Also sometimes lecturers will advertise for undergraduates to help them with their research, so its always good to be on good terms and mention you would he interested if anything comes up. It will look good on your cv when you graduate.

I would definetley suggest going to an open day to get a feel for whether you think you will like it. They advertise them on the website.

Also-I am going a bit off topic here. But just an odd tip with uni in general. All uni's will tell you that you have to pass all of the 1st year modules. But the results don't count towards your final degree grade.

However, if you want to go on to do post grad stuff then as much as the results from the 1st year don't count. They will still look at your grades to see if your a strong 1st,2.1 or 2.2 candidate. So my advise here would be to try your best in all three years. That way your grades will be higher, which will go in your favour. If others tell you not to bother. Just ignore them, they are probably jealous or just lazy etc.

Thanks a million for the reply. I am from Ireland so I'm currently studying for my leaving cert (equivalent to A levels) and since I live here unfortunately I won't be able to make it over for any of the open days so that's why I don't know much about the uni. Thanks so much for the advice... all in all is the university good as a whole? campus, social life, students, staff etc?